Good Afternoon Neighbors and Friends,

On this Easter Sunday and the middle of Passover, we have much good news to share. Whatever your traditions and beliefs, I hope all of you are enjoying a relaxing weekend of rest and reflection.

With the deadline quickly approaching for bills to “crossover” to the Senate, House Republicans spent the week pushing legislation over the finish line. I was proud to support bills that prevent ESG influence on our state pension plans, streamline the adoption process, provide paid parental leave to school district employees, and put life-saving medication in the hands of school nurses. Next week the House is on furlough and will reconvene Tuesday, April 18th. From there we have just 4 weeks left of the 2023-2024 session.

On Wednesday I voted in support of H.3690, the ESG Pension Protection Act. This bill will ensure the $39 billion in SC's pension system will be invested to maximize the returns for the 600,000+ state and local government employees and not be compromised by Environmental-Social-Governance objectives being pushed on us by liberal ideologies. My colleagues and I will not sit back and allow the investment firms to use the power of pension funds to coerce corporate executives to invest in their social objectives. Twenty-five states are currently pushing back on ESG, and this bill enshrines SC’s current investment practices into state law to guard against potential change and protect your pensions. Despite opinion commentary in the local newspaper to the contrary, this issue is a real concern as the Department of Labor had already passed a rule in January that came from a Biden Administration Executive Order to permit fiduciaries of major pools of funds such as pensions and 401(k) plans to be invested for environmental & social governance purposes rather than primarily to earn the best possible risk-adjusted return for employees and investors. The left would have us believe this is a "made-up" concern, but that is just another way of trying to deflect from the constant barrage of influencing everything and everyone, especially when money is involved, to accept their beliefs.

This week we worked to pass a collection of five adoption-related bills designed to make the process of adopting children in our state less burdensome while ensuring safety and integrity. These bills facilitate family members to become legal guardians when adoption is not an option for minors, eliminate the 90-day waiting time to finalize an adoption, allow family court judges to waive pre- and post-adoption report requirements, speed up the adoption process, and allow permanency planning hearings to include termination of parental rights determinations. These bills passed unanimously and mark some of the most significant efforts to make adoption easier for families. These efforts are another way of demonstrating that Republicans want to provide more choices for women who cannot raise a child on their own, yet still, protect that child's right to life while bringing the joy of parenthood to individuals or couples for whom adoption is the best option.

Allowing new parents to take time off to care for their children without sacrificing their income or job security is critical in retaining experienced teachers and attracting new teachers. On Wednesday I voted in support of H.3908 that will allow teachers who become new parents - either upon the birth or adoption of a child - six weeks paid leave which is the same leave available to other state employees. 

On Tuesday, I voted to pass H.3414, which bans ‘Carolina squat trucks,' a dangerous vehicle modification that raises the front end of a vehicle high enough that it impedes a driver’s ability to see over the hood. This endangers pedestrians, especially small children, and creates safety hazards, including large blind spots, braking difficulties, and airbag malfunctions. There have been many fatalities across our state, including a child in Myrtle Beach.

As the opioid epidemic continues to affect communities across the United States, it is imperative that we make life-saving medication available in our schools to respond quickly to an overdose emergency, and potentially save the life of a student or staff member. On Thursday I voted to pass H.4122, which will allow school nurses, in addition to SROs, to stock and administer Narcan. Funding to purchase the medication has already been allocated by DHEC. The original bill specifically addressed epinephrine auto-injectors, while this amended bill allows for "life-saving medication." The House also unanimously passed H.3691, which allows coroners to stock and administer life-saving medication such as Narcan in the event they encounter overdose victims.

Maintaining election integrity is crucial for ensuring that the democratic process remains fair and transparent and that the outcomes of elections accurately reflect the will of the people. This week the Constitutional Laws Subcommittee heard two election integrity bills; H.3695 will require voters to register as a party member or as an unaffiliated voter with a particular party at least 45 days before voting in that party's primary, and H.3823 would limit the number of times one person can witness absentee ballot signatures to five. I co-sponsored H.3695, which is referred to as the "Closed Primaries" bill, and would have liked to see this move through committee sooner since it was overwhelmingly supported by voters in the referendum last November. Since our next partisan election is not until June 2024's primary, hopefully, this will have passed through both the House and Senate and be signed by the Governor before that time.

Thank you to the SC Firefighters Association for sponsoring a very special day this past Wednesday. Not only did many first responders visit us in the State House where they were recognized and honored, they also hosted a wonderful lunch under the big tent on the State House grounds. Although our Mount Pleasant Fire Department could not be in attendance, I was welcomed at a Charleston County table and sat with firefighters from both the West Ashley and St. John's Districts. We can never thank them enough for all these men and women do for our citizens every day. I also want to thank them specifically for the wonderful lunch, because little did we know we would be in the House Chambers until after 9:30PM that night without dinner!